Durov Says Telegram Provides User Information to Governments
Pavel Durov disclosed that Telegram has been supplying various countries' authorities with the phone numbers and IP addresses of criminals since 2018. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
The platform has been collaborating with authorities in criminal cases since 2018, as revealed by its co-founder and chief.
On Wednesday, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced that the messaging service has been adhering to privacy policies in various countries and has been providing information on criminals to authorities for the past six years.
The Russian tech billionaire has been unable to leave France since his arrest in Paris in late August, where he faces multiple charges, including operating a platform used for organized crime and failing to cooperate with French officials.
Last month, Durov, who co-founded the company, introduced an update to the platform’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, clarifying that “IP addresses and phone numbers of those who violate the messenger’s rules can be disclosed to relevant authorities in response to valid legal requests.”
In a subsequent post on his Du Rove’s Channel, Durov stated that the new policy represents no “major shift” in operations, emphasizing that the platform had already been sharing details of criminals exploiting it with relevant authorities.
“Since 2018, Telegram has been able to disclose IP addresses/phone numbers of criminals to authorities, according to our Privacy Policy in most countries,” Durov elaborated. He mentioned that the platform verifies and discloses IP addresses and phone numbers of dangerous criminals when it receives a “properly formed legal request via relevant communication lines.”
In Brazil, for instance, Durov indicated that Telegram had disclosed data in response to over 200 legal requests since the beginning of the year, and about 7,000 requests in India during the same timeframe.
He also observed a rise in the number of “valid legal requests” in Europe recently, suggesting that this increase might result from more EU authorities utilizing the appropriate communication channels for such requests.
The recent update to the platform’s privacy policy, according to Durov, aimed to streamline and unify it, emphasizing that Telegram’s fundamental principles remain unchanged.
“We’ve always strived to comply with relevant local laws – as long as they didn’t go against our values of freedom and privacy,” he stated, adding that Telegram was created to “protect activists and ordinary people from corrupt governments and corporations” and has never permitted criminals to misuse the platform or evade justice.
Durov was apprehended after arriving at a Paris airport in late August but was released on bail a few days later. He faces 12 counts, including complicity in distributing child porn, drug trafficking, and money laundering, based on allegations that Telegram's lenient moderation policies facilitate widespread abuse of the messenger service.
The businessman has strongly denied these accusations, asserting that Telegram has always sought to collaborate with state regulators to find “the right balance between privacy and security.” He highlighted that the platform removes “millions of harmful posts and channels every day” and publishes “daily transparency reports” on actions taken against illegal content dissemination.
Mark B Thomas for TROIB News
On Wednesday, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced that the messaging service has been adhering to privacy policies in various countries and has been providing information on criminals to authorities for the past six years.
The Russian tech billionaire has been unable to leave France since his arrest in Paris in late August, where he faces multiple charges, including operating a platform used for organized crime and failing to cooperate with French officials.
Last month, Durov, who co-founded the company, introduced an update to the platform’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, clarifying that “IP addresses and phone numbers of those who violate the messenger’s rules can be disclosed to relevant authorities in response to valid legal requests.”
In a subsequent post on his Du Rove’s Channel, Durov stated that the new policy represents no “major shift” in operations, emphasizing that the platform had already been sharing details of criminals exploiting it with relevant authorities.
“Since 2018, Telegram has been able to disclose IP addresses/phone numbers of criminals to authorities, according to our Privacy Policy in most countries,” Durov elaborated. He mentioned that the platform verifies and discloses IP addresses and phone numbers of dangerous criminals when it receives a “properly formed legal request via relevant communication lines.”
In Brazil, for instance, Durov indicated that Telegram had disclosed data in response to over 200 legal requests since the beginning of the year, and about 7,000 requests in India during the same timeframe.
He also observed a rise in the number of “valid legal requests” in Europe recently, suggesting that this increase might result from more EU authorities utilizing the appropriate communication channels for such requests.
The recent update to the platform’s privacy policy, according to Durov, aimed to streamline and unify it, emphasizing that Telegram’s fundamental principles remain unchanged.
“We’ve always strived to comply with relevant local laws – as long as they didn’t go against our values of freedom and privacy,” he stated, adding that Telegram was created to “protect activists and ordinary people from corrupt governments and corporations” and has never permitted criminals to misuse the platform or evade justice.
Durov was apprehended after arriving at a Paris airport in late August but was released on bail a few days later. He faces 12 counts, including complicity in distributing child porn, drug trafficking, and money laundering, based on allegations that Telegram's lenient moderation policies facilitate widespread abuse of the messenger service.
The businessman has strongly denied these accusations, asserting that Telegram has always sought to collaborate with state regulators to find “the right balance between privacy and security.” He highlighted that the platform removes “millions of harmful posts and channels every day” and publishes “daily transparency reports” on actions taken against illegal content dissemination.
Mark B Thomas for TROIB News
